China and Venezuela evaluate expanding operating networks and air services

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On Sunday, a delegation headed by the Minister of Foreign Trade and International Investment, Yomana Koteich, the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture, Dante Rivas and the Venezuelan ambassador to China, Ivan Zerpa, made a visit to the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of Shanghai. China (Comac, for its acronym in English), in order to evaluate possible agreements to expand operating networks and air services in Venezuela and the Latin American continent.

The meeting took place in the framework of the China-Venezuela High Level Joint Commission (Cman), according to a press release from the Ministry for Foreign Trade and International Investment.

Koteich explained that the Venezuelan State has the airline Conviasa, from which there is interest in exploring a business model within the framework of the bilateral alliance. "Let our airline be the first to fly Comac aircraft to Venezuela and to Latin America," he said during a guided tour of the corporation by the development and technology management of the Chinese state company.

The head of international trade, said that Venezuela because of its location has "great possibility to be the door of Latin America", so he stressed that the South American country can be an air for China, both for marketing and operations, and to have representative offices for Latin America.

The Comac aircraft corporation will add 100 regional 90-passenger ARJ21 aircraft and another 200 C919 180-passenger capacity aircraft to the Chinese market.

The areas of cooperation would include service and support systems, aircraft maintenance, spare parts support, aircraft training and leasing.